Every Friday, AC Endeavour students visit Oracle Team USA’s gym in Dockyard. It’s a privilege that not many are afforded — an up-close and personal look at the team’s training base and access to a world-class trainer and nutritionist.

In the gym, the students meet with Scott Tindal, the team’s head physiotherapist and nutritionist, and Craig McFarlane, the team’s physical performance manager. Here, they learn valuable lessons on nutrition and fitness.

McFarlane took us through what an afternoon in the gym with the students looks like.

“They first see the nutritionist and he talks to them about basic nutrition aspects,” he said.

“They learn about healthy food choices; what’s a balanced breakfast, lunch and dinner, what are bad foods and what are the implications of eating bad foods. It’s a lot to learn in a short time.

“Sometimes it’s parents who learn from their kids. The students do go home and try to influence their parents. We’d like to get parents more involved next year.”

Once the students learn about healthy eating, they learn how to train their bodies. McFarlane teaches them why exercise is important and the benefits it has on the body.

“I show them various exercises that they can do and then let them challenge themselves as individuals and then work together as a team,” he said. “Then it becomes more of a challenge and competitive.

“I teach them about reducing the risk of diabetes. You can change your life based on what you eat and how you exercise. It’s your choice”.

McFarlane also teaches the students the importance of training for sports in order to get to the next level.

He explains the sailor’s exercise regime which includes cardio; swimming, running and strength training in the gym. This is necessary for their successful sailing training.

Finally, the students are given a circuit to perform, such as squats, push-ups, burpees, etc. McFarlane tells the students that their goal should always be to challenge themselves and to figure out how to make the exercises harder in order to benefit more.

“They enjoy it,” McFarlane said. “All the exercises are interactive and the students don’t want to sit down long. They are very responsive to the gym sessions.

“They love the grinding machines and running across the trampoline.

“Hopefully they take the message home about how they can improve their sports performance and that they want to be active regularly and eat healthy.”